It’s that time of the year when Wellesnet fields questions about Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air radio play The War of the Worlds.
The October 30, 1938 broadcast is available here on streaming audio, along with a transcript of the Howard Koch radio play and an account of the press conference following the CBS broadcast, as well as some of the letters to the FCC contained in the National Archives.
We also have compiled recollections ranging from Welles’ oldest daughter, Chris, to AT&T operators to an actual listener.
As the 83rd anniversary of The War of the Worlds broadcast nears, here is some of what you can find on Wellesnet:
• Streaming audio of the CBS radio broadcast and other Welles radio shows
• Transcript of the Mercury Theatre On the Air broadcast written by Howard Koch
• Welles’ Halloween press conference; Radio Guide magazine, 1938
• Orson Welles’ Sketch Book 1955 on ‘The Martian Invasion’ – transcript and BBC video
• Chris Welles Feder reflects on her father’s famed broadcast
• Norman Corwin on ‘The War of the Worlds’
• National Archives: The FCC and ‘The War of the Worlds’
• Wellesnet veteran Glenn Anders (aka Alex Fraser) remembers the ‘War’
• Video: AT&T operators recalls ‘The War of the Worlds’
• ‘Broadcast Hysteria’ book utilizes nearly 1,400 letters sent to Orson Welles after ‘War of the Worlds’ broadcast
Ready to hear the October 30, 1938 broadcast?
Check it out below.
Audio Player
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